


Come On, Skinny Love

by OverlyInvestedFangirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mistletoe, New Year's Eve, Room of Requirement Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 15:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20027938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyInvestedFangirl/pseuds/OverlyInvestedFangirl
Summary: When two Gryffindors lack the courage to show the feelings they have for one another what will happen to those feelings





	Come On, Skinny Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a Platform 9 and 3/4 Facebook Group One Shot Contest, eternal love to my beta MrsMast who I owe many apologies to because she's been asking me to post this for months. I hope you enjoy!

Hermione didn't want to go, it's not that she didn't like Christmas, she did. It was just the constant presence of it, all the decorations in the halls, the suits of armour enchanted to constantly sing carols. It was so in your face, she couldn't do anything _but_ think of Christmas. 

All she wanted to do was enjoy some peace and quiet in the library, she hadn't been able to properly study in weeks. Not that it had affected her grades thankfully, however Harry and Ron were suffering from it. Without her meticulous notes to read over, or being prepared to help them out as often as she usually was, their quality of work was slipping. 

Now instead of doing what they should be and studying or preparing for classes next week, they wanted to go to a Christmas Eve party that was being held in the Room of Requirement. Fred, George, and Lee had apparently smuggled in some firewhisky, giggle water and butter beer. Ron and Neville had bribed the house elves into supplying the party with a variety of food. 

Hannah, Parvati, Padma, and Lavender had run off earlier, immediately after finishing their lunches to decorate the Room of Requirement for the party and that had given her some precious alone time. 

She was half-way through two lengths of parchment on the Bird-Conjuring charm for Transfiguration when she heard their giggles and girlish chatter floating up the stairs, signalling an end to her solitude. 

“I can't wait for tonight, I had my parents send me a dress as soon as I heard about it.” Lavender gushed to Parvati, Hermione presumed Hannah and Padma had gone to their own dormitories to prepare for tonight as well. She sighed and rolled her eyes, getting as much of the sarcasm out of her system before they could see. Bound to comment on her obvious lack of excitement. 

She quickly put away her parchment, ink, quill and textbook before the girls entered. As soon as they saw her sitting on her four poster bed they sat down on the edge and a barrage of expected remarks started from the girls. 

“Why are you still in your uniform?” Lavender practically shrieked. 

“Isn't your hair going to take quite a while to do? Surely you would have started by now?” Parvati commented. 

“You don't even have a dress laid out!” Lavender pointed out, her eyes drifting over to the dresses on top of her bed and Parvati’s. 

“I'm not going.” Hermione responded firmly. Christmas overload aside, there would undoubtedly be a lot of couples there. She didn't need her lack of a partner pointed out yet again. 

Last weekend there was an unofficial couples day at Hogwarts, or so it seemed. By that she meant that all her friends in relationships had gone to the Three Broomsticks together. Yes she and a few others had been invited, but it was clearly done as an afterthought so none of them had felt left out. 

It wasn't just her friends either, Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was also frequently full and even the Hogs Head Inn was relatively busy. It seemed most didn't want to stay outside with all the snow and wind. She had considered going though, until Fred had convinced her to stay inside by means of a snowball or three to her back.

She was okay with being alone, she really was, but why make herself suffer through watching everyone else be happy and affectionate, kissing and holding hands, while the only thing she would be kissing was the rim of her butterbeer glass. She loved them dearly but being a third wheel non stop wasn't on her to do list, so she had been going to decline in favour of having the library all to herself. 

She had been determined not to go after the snowballs; that is, until Fred had asked her if she would consider still going. Before there was any time to change her mind, before her brain could catch up with her mouth, she had said yes. The twins weren't seeing anyone as far as she knew but they were almost their own couple aside from the romantic aspect of it. The twins had also been invited whether for inclusivity or as another type of couple. Although she had heard through the grapevine that George had been seen mooning over Angelina Johnson all this year.

It seemed like she would not be so lucky this time, despite saying she wasn't going Lavender and Parvati had literally dragged her off the bed and into the bathroom after sharing a mischievous look between themselves. 

“I think the spare dress I had my mum send to me will fit her, do you still have that red makeup palette Lav?” Parvati asked as she started to brush Hermione’s hair and add what she presumed was a sleeking cream to her unruly curls. 

Lavender rushed back into the room momentarily, returning with a miniature suitcase which she set on the counter before opening it to reveal it was jam packed with makeup products. 

“How is all this necessary, surely you don't use everything in here?” Hermione questioned as she nervously inspected the contents of the case. 

Lavender and Parvati giggled, at least it didn't sound like they were trying to be nasty about one of the few areas Hermione was lacking knowledge in. She really wasn't one to wear makeup much and usually just got her mum to do it if the event called for it. 

“You never know what look an occasion might call for, better to be prepared. Now hush and let us make you over like we've been dying to do since second year.” Lavender answered with a cheeky grin. 

***

An hour later Hermione was ushered back into the room to change, still not being allowed to look in the mirror. She slipped on a stunning blood red, chiffon A-line dress and a pair of black lace flats lavender had lent her to go with Parvati’s dress. 

It was only then that the girls had allowed her to return to the bathroom so she could look in the full length mirror located in the corner. They had waited in the doorway with what she suspiciously thought were tears in their eyes. All the while, she slowly stepped towards the mirror eyes downcast. Almost scared to see the result. 

When she finally did look up her jaw dropped in astonishment. She had thought she looked beautiful in fourth year attending the Yule Ball, that was nothing compared to now. 

Without the high heels she felt graceful. The light makeup on her face aside from her eyelids tinged with red, long curved lashes and black liner winged on her eyes gave a look of ethereal divinity. 

Like a fairy queen from the muggle legends perhaps, they had applied some kind of pale gold glitter along the tops of her cheeks and on her lips. Her hair had been turned from curls to soft messy waves, lightly pinned back with a slim golden chain resting along the back of her hair. 

Turning around she tried to come up with words good enough to thank these two, she had never felt so pretty in all her life. It wasn't until the shutter clicked that Hermione noticed they were holding a camera. It was a magical polaroid camera and soon they were shaking the printed picture to make it appear. 

“Here you go Hermione, we figured you might need something to remind you how amazing you look right now.” Parvati explained as she passed her the photo. 

They had captured her smiling down at the floor while trying to think of what to say. As well as a second picture of when she had looked up at them upon recognising the click of the camera. Maybe it was because they only had one more year together after this or perhaps because it was Christmas Eve but she hugged them then, not knowing a better way to express how grateful she was. 

They clearly weren't expecting it as she felt them jump slightly as she wrapped her arms around them but then they quickly returned the gesture. 

“OK we better get ready, best not to ruin your makeup before everyone else sees it hmmm.” Lavender said after a moment with a slight sniffle and a surreptitious wipe at her eyes.

***

Though she had offered they declined Hermione’s help, she was instructed to simply sit and watch. They seemed to work their magic much faster on themselves, occasionally getting the other to hold a bit of hair in place or zip their dress up. 

At a quarter to six they walked down the stairs, arm in arm, when they got to the bottom of the stairs Lavender promptly disconnected from them rushing into the arms of Ron. He mentioned that they all looked nice but was a bit too caught up in fawning over Lavender to have really paid much attention. It was nice seeing him so enamoured. 

Parvati more slowly separated from Hermione and walked over to Seamus who stammered a compliment to her. Both the boys offered a pink rose to their respective partners, Ginny was already holding a red one that she had received from Harry earlier in the evening. 

Eventually they moved to leave for the party when they heard the boisterous noises of Lee Jordan and the twins came floating down the stairs from the boys dormitories. Who knew that all the boys owned such handsome clothing, everyone was in either a suit of some kind or in jeans and a dress shirt. 

Lee Jordan was in a flamingo print, long sleeved button up and dark blue jeans, Harry and Ron were dressed similarly with black shirts instead. Seamus was in a black pair of dress pants, a white dress shirt and dark purple vest. The twins were in matching maroon three piece suits, the only difference was the faint initials sewn into the collar of their jackets. 

Hermione felt a wry smile tugging at her lips, she didn't need the initialling to tell them apart but she doubted many others would notice the miniscule initials anyway. She just had a silly tendency to pay too much attention to them, one twin more than the other. 

Lee had snagged Katie Bell as an impromptu date this afternoon, George had asked Angelina after the Gryffindor teams last quidditch practice much to the delight of Angelina. They both sought them out as all dates seemed to be doing. 

Fred however stopped for just a brief moment before fully leaving the stairwell. Had it just been her foolish imagination or had she seen Fred's eyes roaming over her, looking almost wonderstruck. It was only for a moment, and he noticeably swallowed before hurriedly continuing forward, beginning to greet the other Gryffindor party goers loitering around before heading out. He was practically ignoring Hermione compared to their normal jovial greeting. 

***

She had only seen him look at her like that once before, it wasn't even during the Yule Ball when she had felt her best (prior to tonight). It had been the morning of her sixteenth birthday. She had gotten up early to open her presents in peace while everyone else still slept. Hermione had quietly headed down to the common room still in her cotton shorts and singlet pyjama combination, carrying her small armful of gifts. 

She had opened the ones from Harry, Ron, Ginny, Molly and Arthur as well as the ones twins and Luna had gotten her. She had received an assortment of books, quills, parchment, as well as toys for crookshanks, all her favourite candy from Honeydukes and a sampler of products from their latest Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes line the twins had given her. 

She had saved the one from her parents for last, it was a photo album filled with both muggle and wizarding pictures of Hermione with both her family and her friends. There was a few in there she didn't even know existed, like the one right at the back. 

It was from that Spring while at the Weasleys on the twins birthday, Harry and her had been invited to the party being held at the Burrow. Molly had insisted on getting photos of everyone together, one of those being of Fred and her. She looked happy then, there was no pressure with schoolwork or Voldemort, for that day they were just celebrating the life of two people she cared about. 

She had been so engrossed in the memories the photo album stirred up that she hadn't heard someone coming down the stairs heading towards the common room. It was when she looked up that she saw Fred leaning against the wall casually in red flannel pyjamas, an unusual smile on his face. 

“Hey.” She had said shyly offering a small wave before placing her hand back down awkwardly, fiddling with her thumbs in the lap of her crossed legs. 

“Hey.” Fred responded, voice deep with sleep in the early morning hours. Still smiling he had come and sat down next to her, his hand had been playing with something in his pocket. 

“I uh… wanted to give this to you without everyone else around. Didn't want them making a fuss you know.” Fred pulled a small red box out of his pocket, wrapped in a golden ribbon tied with a bow. 

Shock and confusion were the first things through Hermione's head. 

“But… you already gave me a present…” She faded off as she untied the ribbon and opened the box to reveal a shining gold chain with a ‘H’ pendant attached, a small red gem in the top right corner of the ‘H’. 

“It's beautiful but Fred you really didn't have to.” She had blurted out, unsure how else to respond. 

“Here, let me put it on.” Fred softly said, gently placing a palm on her shoulder to get Hermione to turn around. Lifting her hair out of the way for him, he placed the necklace on her, grazing her neck slightly with his fingers in the process. Then she released the hair and it fell back into place. 

Craning her neck towards him Hermione smiled warmly up at him, locked in his gaze and stunned by his unexpected thoughtfulness. It is then he brushed a few wayward strands of her unbrushed morning hair out of her face. 

She felt her breath hitch and her usually logical brain had gone fuzzy while she subconsciously leaned closer to him. Then he swallowed and gave a slight shake of his head before quickly standing up and heading towards the entrance of the dormitories. 

"I should...er...get back to bed and let you enjoy your gifts. Anyway...happy birthday, Hermione. I'll...um...I'll see you later yeah?" Fred's words were distracted. He turned his back and retreated up the stairs.

Hermione had just sat there dazed for several minutes, wondering if she was still dreaming before gathering up her gifts, putting them on her bed and getting ready for class. 

***

Afterwards they had basically ignored that brief moment of whatever it was, something was different for Hermione though. It wasn't so much that she started liking Fred then, she just became aware of what her feelings towards him actually were. 

She didn't press anything with him, she wasn't as confident as Lavender when it came to the opposite gender. She would rather call him friend than nothing at all. Besides she was rather certain that despite the events of that morning Fred wasn't interested, it was probably just an early morning lack of brain function that caused him to act like that. 

Seeing him look at her like that now though, did funny things to her insides. It felt like a herd of thestrals were flying around inside her stomach and a Jelly-Legs Jinx had been placed on her. Even though once again he immediately acted differently after she caught him looking at her. 

Was it because he was ashamed to be caught looking at her or that he was worried she'd get the wrong idea. All kinds of reasons ran through her head but on the outside she just smiled and joined in the conversation as they all finally headed off to the Room of Requirement. 

Finally, they had made their way to the seventh floor, a feat made harder by some of the girls choice in footwear. The group walked back and forth, three times, with their thoughts focused on the Christmas Eve party. 

It had been relatively quiet in the corridor but when the entrance to the party opened, Hermione was assaulted with the voice of Celestina Warbeck belting out Christmas tunes combined with the party guests chattering. 

Stepping inside she noticed a dozen or so floating trays making their way around the room with assorted drinks and food on them. The walls were draped in a rainbow of different coloured tinsel and there was mistletoe hanging in various places throughout the room. Large glittering star and snowflake cutouts hung from the ceiling while snow softly fell around the room, disappearing before it touched the ground. 

They had even gotten a Christmas tree set up in the far corner. Decorated with more tinsel, baubles and a golden star on top. She had to admit she was impressed. Maybe she should suggest party planning as a future career option for the girls. 

She started to wander around, she grabbed a glass of butter beer from one of the passing trays and started sipping at it. She then headed towards where she had spotted Harry, Ginny, Ron and Lavender talking to Neville, Draco and Luna. 

As she got closer she heard what they were so animatedly talking about, apparently the mistletoe around the room wasn't added by them. 

“The room of requirement probably felt it fitted with the theme, didn't you say it grew mistletoe above you in fifth year Harry?” Hermione chimed in. 

“Uh yeah it did, although that mistletoe was a bit different.” At the quizzical looks from some of the group Harry continued. “People have been getting stuck underneath it all night apparently, won't let them move until they've kissed.” 

At this Ginny got a sly smile and looked pointedly at Ron, though he didn't seem to notice. 

“You missed the real fun while you were looking around Hermione. Ron and Draco got caught underneath that one over there by the door. Luna and Lavender were much more entertained by it than they were. Took them five minutes to get it over and done with.” 

Everyone but Ron and Draco were laughing by the end of Ginny's sentence, Ron was just glaring into his drink and muttering about not being able to trust anything. Lavender just rubbed his back and told him to not worry about things so much. Kissing Draco didn't change anything. Draco just looked sour while Luna told him it was probably the nargles messing with the mistletoe. 

Eventually they broke off to talk to other people, some went to go dance. Hermione just stood by the wall nursing her second butterbeer while watching George and Angelina dance. They were so exuberant that others were giving them a wide berth, lest they be accidentally struck by a stray limb. 

It made Hermione smile to see, her friends were happy, experiencing the joys of love and life in one of these brief breaks from the reality of it all. 

A few hours later and she was starting to get worn out though, being around all the happy couples had once again taken its toll on her emotional state. Not to mention her feet were aching from standing all night. Combine that with the one dance she had with George after Angelina had requested a break, which was energetic to say the least, and it was no wonder she felt like her legs had become dead weight. 

***

As she made her way towards the exit wall she was bumped into from the side. Turning her head around to face the person she first noticed the bright red hair, then the faint F.W in orange thread standing out against the maroon of the suit, then the firm hand on her arm preventing her from tumbling to the ground. 

She finally lifted her gaze from the hand to his face, bashfully smiling at their lack of coordination. 

“Sorry about that Hermione, I didn't mean to.” Fred said, finally breaking the silence between them. 

“It's okay, I...I really should look where I'm going.” She replied after a moment of slight incoherence, her mind reeling from just how close he was. 

Her brain registered his hand was still on her arm gently squeezing. She could smell firewhisky on his breath, tinged with the sweet fruitiness produced from the piece of pavlova he'd consumed earlier in the night, as it washed over her in a warm intoxicating wave. Then his eyes flicked upwards from hers and he let out a defeated sigh. 

She looked up as well, only then noticing they were under a branch of mistletoe. The same mistletoe Ginny had pointed out when recounting Draco and Ron being caught under some earlier that evening. She mentally berated herself for being so careless as to be stuck in such a compromising situation. 

“I don't suppose the brightest witch of our age has figured out how to overcome the effects of mistletoe? I'm sure you know the details of how to get out of mistletoe capture, what a rotten bit of luck that we get stuck together right as you were leaving.” Fred said with little regard for what's happening, almost as if he was talking to himself. “I suppose there are worse things than kissing you in front of everyone but I'm not sure there's a lot.” 

Hermione had already begun to get annoyed at him calling her the brightest witch of our age, he knew she hated that title, but did he really have to act like it was going to be so horrible if he actually had to kiss her. 

Trying to swallow her anger she stiffly ground out to Fred, “No I don't know another way and yes I know what being stuck under here entails.” 

“This isn't how I pictured my night going that's for sure, oh man this is gonna be embarrassing. Like when we're forced to kiss Auntie Muriel every time she comes to visit the Burrow.” 

The disgusted look on his face when he said that felt like a rusty blade to her chest, she knew she wasn't the prettiest girl out there but surely she wasn't that bad that she was comparable with Muriel. She dug her nails into her palms to try and stop her wobbling lip,refusing to show the pain Fred inflicted on her. 

“If kissing me is going to be that bad, may as well just get it over with before I infect you too much with my horribleness.” She bitterly retorted, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him down to her face. 

She ignored the look of shock on his face at her harsh response, she simply closed her eyes and leaned in, closing the distance between them and locking lips with Fred. 

She wished she could say it was a terrible kiss, that she didn't feel like she was floating as she felt an increase in pressure from his firm lips moulding to fit hers. She wished she could say she hated the kiss but the truth was that it was the best kiss she'd ever had, leaving her lips tingling and her mind whirring. 

As she let go of his shirt and came back down to reality she noticed she wasn't the only one left a little breathless and flushed. The moment however was quickly ruined as he promptly wiped his mouth roughly with his sleeve. 

“Well ... glad that's over then, better watch out so I don't get stuck under any more mistletoe with you tonight.” Fred chuckled, like he hadn't just melted her heart and then crushed it within mere moments of each other. 

With a disbelieving shake of her head, Hermione rushed out of the room of requirement as fast as she could without drawing attention. Her only thought was to get as far away from Fred and any other people as possible. No one seemed to have been paying any attention to the two of them so her exit didn't cause much commotion at the very least. 

She was too busy trying to get away that she didn't notice Fred follow her out of the party. She didn't notice when he followed her into the deserted corridor off to the left of the Room of Requirement either. Too caught up in her emotions, currently not believing herself to be worth going after so she hadn't entertained the notion that someone might actually follow her. 

***

“Hermione? Is everything okay…..” Fred whispered as he inched closer to where he had seen her disappear into the shadows. He knew he had fucked up somehow, he didn't think that she would take anything he had said seriously. 

He was just having a joke, he felt awkward about the situation and humour was his go to response but clearly he didn't pull it off this time.

“Go away.”

Sighing he ran a hand through his hair, unsure how best to proceed after that bitter response. She might be his closest friend aside from George but she was still a girl and Fred Weasley did not know how to properly talk to a girl. “I'm sorry if I upset you, I didn't mean to. Can I… Can I sit down?” Fred asked apologetically. 

“Yes fine sit down, I'll just go find somewhere else.” As she got up out of the dim alcove, Fred finally realised she was crying. Mascara filled streaks of shimmering tears marked her face, her eyes were puffy and blotchy. 

Grabbing her arm to stop her retreat as she made to move past him, Fred struggled to think of a way to make things better. 

“Just let me go Fred, it's clear you don't find my company appealing so please let me go be somewhere I don't have to see the disgust on your face. Clearly the thought or memory of kissing me is so utterly terrible to you.” The anger and hurt bleeding heavily into her words, her look vilifying him. 

“Hermione please I didn't mean what I said, I felt awkward and uncomfortable and tried to joke about the situation. Please don't be angry with me, your my best friend besides George.” Fred pleaded with her. For a moment Hermione felt torn, he did look sorry but why would he say those things if he didn't mean them at least a little bit. 

Gently pulling her arm from his grasp Hermione looked sadly at Fred, breathing in deeply trying to maintain her composure for a little while longer. While inside her head was spinning at a dizzying rate and her heart was tearing itself out of her chest. An almost sticky trickling could be felt in her palms, was that blood she felt from where her nails were digging in, as she tried desperately to distract herself from the current events. 

“I just can't pretend you didn’t say that to me, it hurt me because…..well because I like you, you dumb, ignorant fuck and it meant nothing, which is fine honestly, but I don't need the joking about how terrible it is to have to kiss me or you reminding me of it. So I think it's best if I just go right now okay. Goodnight Fred.” 

And with that she turned and walked away, slow and calm until she reached the stairs. Then she took them two at a time, the burn in her legs distracted her from the unwanted tears streaming down her face. Blubbering the password to a concerned Fat Lady, she ignored her questions as she slipped in as soon as there was a sufficient enough gap. 

Once in the sixth year girls dormitory she kicked off the shoes and tugged off the dress, throwing it to sit with the shoes between the beds of Lavender and Parvati. A quick Scourgify of her face took care of the makeup but the tears were still flowing. Getting under the covers, she draws the curtains around her bed and casts a Muffliato against her sobs. It's soon she realises the futility at her attempts to sleep, wishing desperately she had never gone to the party. 

***

“Hey have you seen Hermione?” Harry asked Lavender at lunch on Christmas, all the house tables were in use as so many students had decided to stay back this year. 

“Her bed curtains were drawn this morning and there was no noise coming from inside. I didn't see her leave last night either but the dress and shoes she borrowed were on the floor between our beds when we got in last night.” Lavender sleepily recalled, barely lifting her head from Ron's shoulder. 

Harry just hummed in response, not wanting to make something out of it just yet. Hoping she was just tired and wanting to enjoy a rare opportunity to sleep in. 

***

“What's up Freddie, you seem distracted the past few days.” George asked as he dropped down next to Fred on the couch, nudging him with his shoulder to get Fred's attention. George had been worried about Fred, something was on his mind but he hadn't told him about it yet which meant it was serious. 

“I think I really messed things up trying to do what I thought was best for a situation. Now I don't know how to fix it.” Fred eventually said, still not taking his eyes off a gold necklace with a golden ‘H’ attached, a single red ruby set into the right top corner that he was holding. 

“I found this in my quidditch locker yesterday when we went to play that casual game in the afternoon. I don't even know when she had time to get it in there without anyone noticing, clever witch.” He said the last bit wryly, as if it were a bad joke. 

“I might technically be the younger brother but listen to this bit of wisdom, you got it bad Freddie.” George said with light a pat on his back that felt more mocking than comforting. George didn't need to see the letter hanging off the necklace to know who was on his brothers mind. 

It was pretty obvious that they were stupid for each other but theirs was a skinny love, too embarrassed to say anything about it so they were stuck in a limbo of fear. He wondered what made the both of them so frightened of what could happen that they lost all of their Gryffindor courage. 

It was only causing both of them to become miserable however and George wasn't going to let it go on any longer. 

“Just tell her Fred.” George grinned at his brothers shocked look, as if George wouldn't know. “You can't hide it mate, I've known you all my life and I also know Hermione well enough to tell she likes you too.”

“I don't think that's true anymore.” Fred glumly added, “I messed up incredibly bad Georgie.” George just waited, knowing he'd begin the explanation when he was ready. 

After collecting his thoughts for a few moments and taking a deep breathe in Fred recounted what happened the night of the Christmas party, seeing her when he came down the stairs and thinking she was the most beautiful woman in the world. 

The stupid comments he made to her about having to kiss under the mistletoe because he was feeling embarrassed at kissing her in public. So sure that she wasn't interested in him. 

Finding her crying after she had rushed off from the party, him trying to apologise and it clearly not working. Her admitting she liked him then walking off leaving him stunned and confused. 

Him finding the necklace five days later, having no clue how long it had been in there as no one had seen her much the past few days. The way his heart ached at seeing the necklace there and another crushing reminder that he had been an idiot. 

“Look I got asked not to tell anyone but apparently she's been spending most of her time in the Astronomy Tower, getting her meals directly from the kitchen. It's New Years Eve, maybe with a new year about to start she'll be up for forgiving a silly, lovesick fool.” George teased his brother, standing up and offering a hand of assistance to Fred who now contained a small sliver of hope in his eyes. 

***

It had been a nice break, avoiding everyone for the past few days. She would leave her bed long after the girls had left the room, grab her purse with the Undetectable Extension Charm and pack it with whatever books, writing equipment and other items she needed to do her homework or self study, usually with a blanket or pillow to sit on. 

Why not hide away in comfort, she had a clipboard she used to lean on so she could set up wherever she pleased. While everyone was eating breakfast in the Great Hall, Hermione snuck down to the Hogwarts kitchens, tickling the pear to get inside. 

The house elves were more than happy to give her a basket full of food, far exceeding what she would need for the day. Instead of asking for less she thanked them and went on her way, she fed the excess to the giant squid late at night after everyone else had gone to bed. 

She wasn't getting a lot of sleep recently but she'd ticked off a few more books on her extensive reading list and had explored some more of the Hogwarts grounds. Part of that exploration was what led to her first encounter with the giant squid, she had curiously threw it half of a tuna and mayonnaise sandwich she found in her basket of food from the house elves. 

The creature poked it warily with the tip of a tentacle before dragging it underneath with its waiting mouth. Hermione couldn't help the giggle that burst from her lips. 

Any onlooker would say it was quite an adorable scene, hesitantly she threw it the other half. This time it was much quicker in grabbing the half sandwich from the water and gobbling up the small morsel. Digging through the basket she found a couple more tuna and mayonnaise sandwiches, one by one, throwing them to her new unlikely companion. 

It became a daily tradition, at about ten in the evening she would leave the Astronomy Tower using a spell to hide herself and go sit by the Black Lake to feed the giant squid. 

After the first night she had begun to request foods more suitable for her friend, fish and other seafood. Luckily with the basket hidden in her purse she didn't have to worry about smelling seafood all day long in the Astronomy Tower. 

She did miss her friends a fair bit but she knew she needed to sort her head out first. Promising herself that by the holidays end she would be ready to face everyone again and the numerous questions they undoubtedly had. 

On New Years Eve the house elves had packed her an extra special basket worth of food. There was an abundance of delicious scents wafting from the meals and decadent looking sweets, the plates they were set on charmed to keep them fresh and at their desired temperature. She felt a surge of affection for the small but hard workers with kind hearts, big eyes, floppy ears, a mismatch of clothes and toothy smiles beaming up at her. 

One by one she gave all of them a long hug, thanking each and everyone for taking such amazing care of her and giving her food to feed the giant squid with, as well as this lovely surprise. She promised she would come back with scarves and hats for all of them when she next went into Hogsmeade. 

Wiping away the few tears that had escaped she thanked them again before concealing herself and heading up to the Astronomy Tower as had become habit recently. 

***

The stairs to the Astronomy Tower felt like a breeze as he raced up them, determined not to waste anymore time waiting around acting like a dumbass. He had to tell her how he felt and why he really said those things, how sorry he was and that he never meant to hurt her. 

Reaching the top he nervously turned the handle and inched opened door. Peering in he saw no one and let out a defeated sigh. Walking slowly inside he double checked everywhere just in case he missed something. 

It was obvious someone had been up here pretty regularly in recent times, there was a lack of dust in certain areas on the floor and shelves. 

His smile was bittersweet, it smelt like Hermione in here. Violet, frangipani, orange, vanilla and honeysuckle combined with the ever present parchment and ink that she always had with her. Fred could see a few drops of ink on the wood where she must have spilt some and not noticed, she would have already cleaned it away if she had. 

Walking to the stains and crouching down Fred whispered “Scourgify.” and watched the stains vanish. Standing up he looked around, with a wave of his wand he conjured a banner and wrote ‘Happy New Year Hermione’ on it in black, his scrawled print ever so slightly difficult to read. 

Then he produced dozens of purple orchids in groups of vases around the room, her favourite flower. Glittering gold and silver streamers now hung from various points along the roof and walls, he then put a clock on one of the walls so she could count down to the new year. 

Satisfied with his work, he left the room and headed back down the stairs towards the Great Hall, though he wasn't particularly hungry. Sliding in next to George he shook his head at the enquiring raised eyebrow he received. 

He mouthed ‘Not there.’ And then waved his hand to indicate he would fill George in later. 

He reached for a piece of toast slathering it with butter and strawberry jam. Brain whirring as he formulated his next step, he searched the table for Lavender and Parvati hoping they had a photo of her from that night. If that part went well, he would have to head into Hogsmeade to get the other items for his idea. 

Wolfing down the rest of his toast, he got up and went to talk to the girls. He had a long day of work in front of him. 

***

When she had opened to door to the Astronomy Room she was stunned, she almost dropped her purse as her hands had flown to her mouth to smother her gasp. Someone had been here since last night, it was currently filled with decorations for New Year's. 

What made her eyes sting with tears was the outrageous amount of purple orchids that were placed throughout the room. There were very few people that knew her favourite flower and even less that knew she was up here, Angela only knew because she had run into her one night after coming up to do an Astronomy assignment. 

She had explained some of what happened but didn't go into detail. However it seemed the perceptive girl already knew whom it was her sorrows regarded, quickly reassuring Hermione that Fred was just being stupid and would come to his senses. Hermione wasn't so sure, his rejection of her had seemed pretty real. 

She didn't care who had done it, she was happy about it regardless. Setting up her nook of pillows and blankets to work on she had decided to relax for a while first. Her day varied between reading, adding extra length to her homework parchments and enjoying the delicious food in the basket. 

Around seven she'd decided to rest her eyes a bit before heading down to the lake later that evening. She had certainly needed the past few days of restoration but some extra rest wouldn't hurt Hermione'd rationalised with herself. It wasn't long before she was breathing deeply, sleep making her look younger, happy, and without worry. 

***

It was past eleven by the time Fred had gotten everything ready, he had gotten a copy of the photo from Lavender and Parvati then placed it in a golden rectangular frame he had picked up in Hogsmeade. He had also gotten the front of the frame engraved with a small leaved vine pattern that had elegant hearts every so often in place of the flowers that might have been placed there. 

On the back was another engraving, a message: 

‘Dear Hermione, 

You are beautiful, but especially so on this night, it was always like you had a light shining from you but you were beyond radiant here. I'm glad you can always have something to remind you of that, and if you ever lose this I'll be here to remind you just how beautiful and precious you are instead because you deserve to be loved, adored, appreciated and valued. 

Love Fred’

Fred just hoped she would accept his very late Christmas present. He had the shopkeeper carefully wrap it in red paper and tied a gold ribbon around it. Then he slowly made his way back to the Astronomy Tower for the second time that day. 

When he got there, opening the door and entering just as quietly as he had earlier, he was a bit taken back to see Hermione peacefully asleep in a pile of cushions and blankets. 

He almost left without talking to her once again but she shifted and said something incoherently. Softly shutting the door and edging closer to her, Fred attempted to make out her sleepy mutterings. It took a few more times hearing it and him shuffling a bit closer for him to make out that she was saying his name in her sleep. 

“What am I supposed to do with you huh, was I really that oblivious to how you felt or are you just too good at hiding it.” Leaning forward he brushed a few stray strands of hair off Hermione’s face. The movement caused her to fully stir, big brown eyes sleepily blinking up at Fred. She almost thought she was still dreaming except her dream Fred didn't look so dishevelled. 

“Wha...what are you doing here?” Hermione questioned groggily as she sat herself up. Too tired to be angry at him right then. 

“I was looking for you, I came to give you your Christmas present and to ...well to apologise again. How I acted was inexcusable, I thought making fun of the situation was a better alternative to telling you the truth and I hope one day you can give me another chance to treat you how you deserve.” Fred said in a rush, trying to get everything he wanted to say out before she could stop him. 

Shyly he gave her the present, her mind was immediately drawn back to the morning of her sixteenth birthday a few months ago. The red paper and gold ribbon reminiscent of the gift from that morning. Undoing the ribbon with the same level of care she had on that morning, she let out a gasp when she saw what was underneath the wrapping. 

The first thing she noticed was the photo, she recognised it as the one that had been taken after she'd seen herself in the mirror. She felt a sharp tug in her heart, remembering how beautiful she had felt, how heartbroken she had been. 

Distracting herself from the memory she took in the golden frame, the engraved hearts so delicate and pretty. 

“Turn it over.” Fred instructed from the sidelines. 

So she did. Any cracks left in her heart disappeared as the rest of it melted into them upon reading the message inscribed, repairing the damage like instant set cement. Carefully placing it down beside her, Hermione then leapt at Fred, hugging him fiercely as the tears started to fall. 

“Thank you Fred, this means more to me than you could possibly imagine.” She whispered into his ear before pulling back, realising that she had just launched herself at Fred. 

He reached forward, tilting her head forward with a single finger on her chin. Looking her firmly in the eyes, Fred told her in a passionate voice, “I would do anything for you, I would move mountains and topple ministries if that's what it took to get to you. 

You mean more to me than words can express and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much that is. Please say you'll be mine, I don't want to spend another day being held back by my own insecurities and embarrassment.” 

Throughout his miniature speech he had been softly rubbing circles on her cheek with his thumb. Hermione let out a breathy sigh, leaning in to his hand, relishing in the feeling of his skin on hers. 

Placing her own hand over his she brought it down into her lap, holding on to it tightly, as if he would disappear if she loosened her grip. 

“You already have me Fred, like a thief in the night you ran away with my heart and left a funny joke in its place. I've just been waiting for you to realise you had it and then to decide what you were going to do with it.” She wryly replied, standing up and pulling Fred with her.

Grasping his hands in hers she looked up at him shyly. “So what do we do now.” He pretended to ponder over how to answer her for a moment before he gave her answer to her. 

“We go on as before except now I get to hold your hand and not get quite as much teasing from George and Lee as I would have if you weren't my girlfriend.” He quickly lost control of the serious face he was trying to maintain, his grin was infectious. Soon both of them were laughing at the absurdity of it all. 

Looking down at her in wonder, Fred placed his hands gently on her waist. Slowly he began turning her in small circles, enjoying the feeling of Hermione in his arms. 

“I figured this is what would have happened at the Christmas party had I found some courage earlier. I thought you might like at least one slow dance before the year is out.” Fred quietly explained, his breath warm against the side of her face. 

She rested her head against his chest, smiling into it when she felt his lips brush feather light kisses across the top of her head. They were so caught up in each other that the fireworks going off around them nearly went unnoticed. 

Glancing at the clock Fred had put on the wall they saw it was indeed midnight and officially the start of a new year. 

“I can't think of a better way to start off the year than this.” Hermione shyly said, eyes cast downward, still feeling uncertain about how to proceed regarding her newfound relationship with Fred. 

“I can think of one.” He took her face in his hands, leaning down close enough for Hermione see the flecks of hazel in his warm brown eyes. 

As Fred closed the distance tantalisingly slow, he whispered, “Happy New Years Hermione.” Before pressing his lips to hers, giving her a New Years kiss that felt more explosive than the fireworks in the night sky. 


End file.
